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Chapter 28

Every morning, Booth brought Elena to school when Brennan went to work early. Every afternoon, Brennan picked up Elena and did some housework as her daughter played. Home-schooling was still part of the routine. They drank tea together as Brennan simply took to explaining Physics or mathematical problems in a way that Elena enjoyed. She'd always enjoyed it. After tea, Elena was free to do whatever she liked. Mostly, she joined her mother in her study to read, which was still a big hobby of Elena's. Meanwhile, Brennan did the literature searches she needed to prepare for her next day of work. She also put that day's acquired data in the computer and sent it to the project leader. Brennan mostly took care of dinner on weekdays because Booth got out of work at 6PM, whereas Booth liked to go big with dinner in the weekends. They often had friends and family over for dinner, or Elena was allowed to have a slumber party. It was a routine that suited them; they were all quite content with it.

Until one day, Booth was fifteen minutes late without calling. Fifteen minutes turned into thirty, and still not a word. His phone was turned off. Eventually, when Brennan was about to call the police station, her cell phone rang. It was Booth's chef.

Twenty minutes later, Max had arrived to babysit Elena and Brennan was picked up by a police car. She kissed her daughter and told her not to worry; she'd call as soon as she could. Elena was obviously scared and nodded quietly before her grandfather took her hand and placed his other hand on his granddaughter's shoulder. "It's going to be okay, sweetheart," Max reassured her, "Mommy's going to make sure."

Brennan's throat was closed up with fear. She quickly got into the police car, all the blood drained from her face. Booth was in the hospital. What if he was seriously injured? They needed him.

Once in the hospital, she was brought to Booth's room and told that while he looked pretty bad, it could have been much worse and he was expected to make a full recovery. Brennan nodded tightly and went inside. Tears clouded her vision as she laid eyes on him. He was in the bed, his torso naked. Bruised skin everywhere. His eyes were closed, his face contorted with pain. Brennan walked up to him, the heels of her shoes making clicking sounds on the floor. She stood next to the bed and carefully placed her hand over his, holding it as a tear rolled over her cheek. It hurt her so badly to see him hurt, and she'd been so scared for him. Actually, she'd always been afraid something like this would happen. It was a nightmare.

The clicking of someone's heels didn't make him let go of his self-imposed isolation. Many nurses had entered his room to check on him and he needed to focus on slowly breathing through the pain. He didn't open his eyes until he could feel a light and yet familiar touch. Slowly, his eyes opened. "Bones," he whispered and closed his fingers around hers, "You came."

She swallowed. "Of course I came," she said, trying to smile at him. She leaned down and pressed a light kiss to the only part of his face that wasn't purple. "What happened?" she asked him as she sat down on the chair next to the bed.

Booth swallowed to moisten his throat. "You know the drug dealers I was telling you about? Yeah, they - uhm - they didn't appreciate my snooping around -" his face contorted in pain and he took his time to regulate his breathing, "very much. They made sure I understood that."

"I told you you shouldn't go alone!" she scolded him, then breathed out to calm herself. The damage had already been done, after all, and he certainly saw her point now. "What did they do to you?" she asked him quietly.

"Bruised ribs, broken nose. They were kind, considering the fact that most of them had knives." He had even seen a gun, but he didn't think she needed to know that.

"That's everything?" Brennan wanted to make sure. "It looks much worse."

"It isn't, Bones. The ribs are the worst. It hurts a lot, but it will heal. All we need is a little time. There is - uhm, there is one thing we need to - uh - discuss."

She frowned worriedly. "What is it, Booth?"

"They, uh..." Well, there was no easy way to say this, was there? "Bones, they know where we live. We have to move."

"What?" Shocked and afraid, she stood and paced the room. "Elena's home. Is she in danger?"

"Uniforms are on their way to our home to pick her up. I take it Max is with her? They will bring her here and then they will bring both of you to a secure location. I will join you as soon as possible."

"But -" She couldn't wrap her mind around the situation. "Didn't you catch them? Didn't you have backup or anything?"

"Bones." He knew he would get nowhere if he would sugar-coat things now. "They beat me up, grabbed my wallet and left - with a parting message - that they would say hello to the mrs. I wasn't exactly in a position to call for back up. I nearly blacked out from the pain."

"But why go there all by yourself in the first place?" she asked him, desperately wishing this all wasn't true.

"My partner was a no-show, Bones, so I went. I was about to call for back-up when they cornered me. Look, it doesn't matter now. What matters is your safety and Elena's. Just go with them, okay? My supervisor talked to the DA. They will relocate us if I testify."

"Relocate? So we'll have to leave everything behind? Our entire life? Elena's friends?" Brennan flopped down in the chair again and rested her head in her hand. "Everything we've worked for..." After a moment, she looked up at him. "But at least you'll be okay. That's the most important thing." She took his hand in hers again and kissed his knuckles.

Booth gently squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry I got us into this mess, but there might be a silver lining. I asked if Washington DC is an option and they said they'd look into it. You could apply for the Jeffersonian and I've been thinking of applying for a job as an FBI Agent."

She looked at him for a few moments. "No. I can apply to the Jeffersonian, though I may as well apply for president, but you - you will be a baker, or do cleaning, or be a concierge, or any other profession which doesn't involve criminals. It's too dangerous. We need you," she spoke with a lump in her throat.

"Darling, I'm not going anywhere," he tried to reassure her.

"Well, you almost did," she insisted.

Booth looked at her. He could see the fear in her eyes, the leftover panic in her tense posture. "I can find something else." Booth nodded. "I'll find something else. I'm not leaving either of my girls again."

Brennan let out her breath. "Thank you. For how long do you have to stay here?"

"For safety reasons, I will be going to the safe house -" When her eyes widened, he amended his statement, "the secure location with you and our daughter."

"God, Booth. What a mess. How do I tell Elena she'll lose everything and she won't even get to say goodbye?"

"She's not going to lose everything. We are moving. She handled the move out of Russ's house well, didn't she? Besides, she still has both of her parents. I think that's most important to our little girl. Don't you think?"

"She'll lose everything else. It'll be a big deal. A huge deal." Brennan shook her head. "I know what's most important, but I hate that we're about to lose everything we've built up. We have such a good life."

"Brenn," Booth tried to sit up and gasped in pain as he relaxed back onto the bed. "We can do this. We've been through worse. Both of us."

"Okay. It's okay, just lie down," she quickly soothed him, hating to see his face contort in pain. "Just try to relax. We'll be fine."

"We will be."

The uniforms entered, accompanied by a doctor. "Moving will hurt, so we are going to give you a painkiller." The doctor gave Booth an injection and told the others that he could leave. Paperwork was being drawn up and as soon as that was in order, they could go.

Brennan helped Booth get into the elevator and out the building, then into the car. It was obvious he was in pain despite the injection, and Brennan wished it wouldn't be a long drive to the safe house.

During the drive, they were informed of the fact that their daughter, along with her grandfather, had been transported to the secure location and that they were waiting for their arrival. Two armed officers would be closeby to guarantee their safety at all times.

It was a hellish drive for Booth, and Brennan wished she could take some of his pain. Eventually, they stopped somewhere, and Booth remained brave as Brennan helped him get out of the car and into the house. As soon as they were inside, something collided with them.

"Daddy!" Elena called out as she wrapped her arms around her mother's and her father's legs and held on tightly.

"Hey princess," Booth rested his hand on the top of her head for a moment. "Can you let Daddy sit for a moment?"

"Are you hurt, Daddy?" Elena whispered as she moved out of the way and noticed her father's bruised face with a horrified expression.

"Just a bit, princess," Booth managed to get out as Brennan guided him to the couch. "Not the couch, Bones." Booth eyed the bedroom door. "Bed? Please?"

Brennan opened the next door. Bathroom. The next one. Bingo. "It's in here," she told him as she helped him walk. She helped him lie down and took off his shoes and socks. She covered him with the duvet and kissed his broken lips. She tasted his blood. "I'm so grateful you're alive," she whispered. "You can't ever die on us, Booth. We love you too much."

Booth lifted his arm, wanting to cup the back of her head, hold her close for a little while longer, but instead, as he moved his arm, his bruised ribs protested and he winced in pain. He lowered his arm again. "I won't. Don't worry about me. Make sure our girl is okay."

"Can she come kiss you goodnight?"

"Of course. I don't know how long I'm going to be able to stay awake, though. The painkiller is really starting to kick in."

"I'll get her," Brennan said and left the room. "Elena? Let's go give Daddy a goodnight kiss. He's going to go to sleep."

Elena ran towards her mother and into the bedroom. "Daddy? Are you okay? Your face looks weird."

"I know, princess. Daddy got hurt at work today. My chest hurts and my nose too, so be careful, okay?" Booth didn't want his daughter to think that he didn't love her anymore, but the idea of having any kind of pressure close to his chest was enough to make him wince.

"I'll be very careful," Elena promised quietly. "I'll be right back. Stay awake, Daddy." Elena ran out of the room and was back within thirty seconds. "Here you go. This will help." She put Moby on his nightstand. "Sleep tight and feel better in the morning," she told her father bravely and kissed his hand.

"I love you, princess. Sweet dreams, baby." He felt an instant rush of pride and love towards his daughter as he held on to the stuffed animal with his fingers, clenching it.

Brennan kissed him goodnight, too. "I'm going to sleep with Elena, otherwise I'll lie against your chest in my sleep. I'll see you in the morning, darling. I'll leave the doors open so I can hear you if you need anything. I love you," she added in a whisper.

"I love you, too. I'm so sorry. I really am. But we'll be fine, Bones. We'll get through this." Booth looked into her eyes. "I promise."

Brennan nodded. "We'll stay together. That's the most important thing. Rest and heal now, Booth." She kissed the part of his cheek that wasn't bruised, turned off the lights and left the door ajar.

In the living room were two officers waiting to catch Brennan alone to talk to her about what the procedure would be from now on. They allowed her to put Elena in bed first, though. Brennan worked with her father to make it quick, and as Max was reading Moby Dick to his granddaughter, Brennan stepped outside.

She learned that their house would be emptied and their belongings would be kept in a container until they'd found a relocation home for them. The officers checked if she agreed on Washington, and Brennan confirmed. It was overwhelming, but the adrenaline kept her grounded for now. She was taking everything in and made plans. As Booth recovered, she'd have to take control.

Booth didn't like the fact that they couldn't face the situation together, but he reluctantly accepted the fact that he had to heal first. As the painkillers kicked in, Booth's eyes closed and he fell asleep.

By the time he woke up again, it was dark and every breath hurt like hell. Booth tried to raise himself up, but it only made the pain worse and he let out a guttural groan. Knowing that there was only one thing he could do, he called out to his partner, hoping he wouldn't wake up his daughter in the process. "Bones!"

Brennan slept very lightly with Elena curled up against her. Max was on the couch; he'd insisted on it. When Booth's voice sounded through the silent house, Brennan reacted to it. Carefully, she extracted herself from her daughter's grip and got out of bed. She tip-toed out of the bedroom and into Booth's. She heard his laboured breaths and grabbed another pillow. "Lift your head," she told him, and when he did, she put another pillow underneath him as she helped him sit up slightly. "Lying down will only aggravate the pain."

"Oh, thank you." Booth felt like he could finally draw in a breath again. "I hope I didn't wake Elena?"

"You didn't. I slept lightly. I'm going to give you another pain killer."

"Yeah, I would really appreciate that. God, this hurts," he mumbled after she'd left the room.

Brennan returned with a pill and a glass of water, as well as a biscuit. "Eat this first or you'll get sick," she told him as she handed him the biscuit.

Booth did as he was told and ate the biscuit first. "Is she okay? Did she go down without a fight?"

"She's very much impressed by everything in this situation. I don't think she's scared, though." Brennan handed him the white pill, hoping it would bring him the relief he needed.

Booth swallowed the medicine. "Good. I don't want her to be scared. Did the officers talk to you?"

"They did. I wanted to ask you if you'd be okay with not changing our names. It's not always necessary and I don't want to put Elena through that kind of trauma."

"No," he shook his head. "I agree. I think relocating is a good idea, but no, I don't want our names to change. And I also don't think it is necessary." Booth's voice lowered. "If they come near my family again, I will be ready for them."

"We'll get a place that's very secure in a good neighbourhood. It's an upgrade from what we're used to. Of course, I'd rather just stay here..." She shook her head. "We'll adjust."

"I'm sorry." Through the pain, Booth reached for her hand. "I really shouldn't have gone out on my own." Booth felt himself tear up. "I didn't mean to make both of you pay the price."

She took his hand in hers. "I'm sure you did what you thought was best. I'm not angry with you. We have to move on. The past is in the past, and I just want you to be safe."

"I want both of you to be safe." Booth swallowed. "Can you stay with me for a little while?"

"Yes, of course I can," Brennan said and carefully sat down next to his hip as she held on to his hand.

Slowly, the painkiller started to work and Booth was able to relax slightly. As time passed by, his eyelids started drooping and his body was pulled under. "Love you," he murmured and released her hand, knowing that she had to go back to their daughter.

Once he was asleep, Brennan heaved a heavy sigh. They'd been so comfortable in their routines, and now, she didn't even know what the next hours would bring. It was as if the world had changed. She had to be strong for her family, though, and she knew she would be. She was feeling the same primal power inside her she had when she gave birth to Elena. She felt like a lioness ready to protect her kin.


So, there it was, their world got turned upside down. Was anyone expecting this? Can things get even worse? (Yes, they can always get worse.) Do you blame Booth for this turn of events? Next chapter, their world might get even darker, but the light of their love will always shine brighter :). Any thoughts on this chapter will be greatly appreciated, your reviews really keep us motivated to continue writing!